1. Youth in Development (YID) is a critical field because challenges are serious
„« Negative Argument: Neglecting youth leads to poverty, depression, violence
„« Positive argument: Investing in youth is key to building leadership, human, social, intellectual capital, hence to social change & progress
2. The establishment is increasingly interested in Youth; YID is becoming an acknowledged field
3. Young people are increasingly active and interested in participating
IMPLICATIONS
4. Youth are seeking, receiving some, and deserve more support and better infrastructure to develop themselves as agents of proactive, responsible social change
5. The establishment needs better mechanisms and models to bridge their work and that of youth.
6. Organizations and individuals within the establishment and focused on youth need better mechanisms and models to organize the currently turbulent, chaotic market for intangible and tangible goods and services in youth leadership & development.
IMPLICATIONS
4. Youth are seeking, receiving some, and deserve more support and better infrastructure to develop themselves as agents of proactive, responsible social change
„« There are three closely-linked categories of youth: Children, teens, and young adults. Each has separate problems, needs, and abilities to contribute
„« The least attended group¡Xnot even recognized as a group¡Xis the one that can contribute the most. Emerging leaders--young adults who 2, 5 or 10 years earlier were young activists, entrepreneurs or leaders--are pivotal actors:
ľ A paradoxical generation: Among them, some of the best informed, educated, prepared cohorts of youth in history, alongside a vast population of poorly informed, ill-equipped, and potentially extremely parochial youth.
ľ Among them, some of the most tech savvy, interconnected, international group of young leaders in history, some of which truly identify themselves as global citizens and others who are unclear, even downright lost, as to their identities, values, and worldviews.
ľ They are, for better or worse, the bridge between generations, and potentially between paradigms and world views.
„« Bridges need to be built between youth themselves in general, and particularly among responsible, proactive young leaders if fair, democratic, sustainable, renewed spiritual, moral, social, political, economic paradigms are to prevail locally, nationally, and globally.
5. The establishment needs better mechanisms and models to bridge their work and that of youth.
„« The establishment includes global, regional, bilateral development institutions, governments, private sector, foundations, academia, non-profits.
„« All these organizations are faced with the need to transform existing implicit and external structures; intrapreneurial young people (embedded within the organizations) are central in this process.
„« Partnerships with youth-led organizations can also be useful in this process: they serve as important feedback, learning, and leadership development mechanisms.
„« To increase, even to sustain momentum, bridges between young intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs, activists, and leaders themselves are also critical.
„« Bridges (organizational, conceptual, and digital) between these youth and their senior allies.
6. Organizations and individuals within the establishment and focused on youth need better mechanisms and models to organize the currently turbulent, chaotic market for intangible and tangible goods and services in youth leadership & development.
„« Markets need to be more open, transparent, efficient, fair.
„« Incentives to enable and stimulate young entrepreneurs and YLOs to participate as market players (on their own or in alliance with established organizations) should be considered.
„« Markets need to get with the new economy, that is, to focus much more on the vast and renewable untapped energy embodied in different forms of intangible (human, social, intellectual, structural, leadership, emotional, cultural) capital. This greatest of sources of renewable energy comes into society through people, especially creative, passionate, hard-working young people.
Contact leongalindo@earthlink.net
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